Evening all. We've reached the time of year where I start considering whether to carry these write-ups on for another series. This may have been motivated by a certain other blogger announcing his long running reviews of a certain other BBC series will be end with the next series. Again, I haven't decided anything for sure, but I will keep you posted. On with tonight's show, and a potentially classic match-up between two teams who impressively won their second round matches...
Wolfson College Oxford needed a tie-breaker to sneak past Sheffield after a 170-each draw in the first round, but their second match against Edinburgh was won comfortably thanks to a late sprint, 220-100. They were unchanged from both those earlier matches:
Mike Perrin, from East Anglia (via Japan), studying Archaeology
Mary Caple, from Victoria, Canada, studying Art History
Captain: Claire Jones, from Houston, Texas, studying History
Ryan Walker, from Stone in Staffordshire, studying Clinical Medicine
Corpus Christi College Cambridge have already beaten two teams from the other place to get this far, firstly Merton in the first round by 195-140, and then a demolition job against Magdalen in the second round two weeks ago, 270-75. Hoping for a hat trick were the also unchanged foursome of:
Alexander Russell, from Bristol, studying Japanese Studies
Will Stewart, from Peterborough, studying History of Art
Captain: Ian Wang, from Sale in Greater Manchester, studying English
Alex Gunasekera, from from Witney, studying Chemistry
Off we set again then, and the first starter was one of those classic UC questions giving a list of various cryptic clues; Ms Jones made the mistake of buzzing at the first she recognised, and five points were lost. Given the full question, Mr Wang knew the clues related to characters in Friends; the Cambridge side took full advantage with a full set on the work of writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Mr Stewart gave Corpus Christi a second in a row, identifying the origins of the term 'Glass Ceiling'; just one bonus followed this time however, and it was a slightly lenient allowance at that. Mr Walker moved Wolfson back into positive integers as he took the next correct starter, and two correct bonuses set them off in pursuit. Ms Jones, by some distance their MVP in the earlier rounds, gave the Oxonians a second starter in a row, but bonuses on nuclear physics gave them just one correct answer. The first picture round, on maps of empires, went to Corpus Christi; two correct bonuses took their lead to 60-30.
A very quick from Ms Jones on 'Pittsburgh' cut the gap back, and a classic bonus set on words that can be made from the letters of 'TORONTO' gave them two correct bonuses. Mr Wang didn't think the answer he offered for the next starter was right, but said it anyway, and Paxo very cheekily left him hanging for ages before revealing he was in fact right! Another two bonuses followed, before Mr Russell gave Corpus Christi a second starter in a row; no bonuses from a tricky set on astronomy followed however. The next starter asked for one of two EU states; Mr Stewart offered one, and the other, when prompted by Paxo, even though it wasn't necessary! Two bonuses were taken, the other unluckily missed.
The music round, on classical pieces that figuratively depict pendulums, went to Wolfson; two correct answers took the scores to 110-70. The next starter was one of those that was suddenly obvious once the killer words, 'fictional region of Wessex', were read out; Ms Jones won the race to the buzzer to offer 'Thomas Hardy', and Wolfson took another two correct bonuses. The next starter asked for the square root of a googol (or a number one followed 100 zeroes, as Major Ingram will remember); Mr Gunasekera was first to work that out, but the Cambridge side got nothing from the resulting bonuses. Ms Jones pushed Wolfson into triple figures with the next starter, giving a bonus set on US state capitals, asking which was closest to a more prominent city, of which they took one.
The second picture round, on paintings depicting scenes from the biblical book of Esther, went to Corpus Christi; two correct answers took their lead to 140-105. Still either team's match, and Ms Jones kept her side in the name with the next starter; bonuses on Poe's The Raven (sadly no mention of the Simpsons remake) gave them a full house, taking them within ten points and setting up a sprint for the finish line.
Mr Stewart blinked first as he identified a list of types of medieval helmet for the next starter; bonuses on military history, requiring a year ending with 6 each time, gave them two correct answers. And when Mr Gunasekera took the next starter, the match was now there's to lose; two correct bonuses meant Wolfson had to go for it to catch up now. Ms Jones did her best, identifying the prime minister Lord Rosebery, but when just one bonus on the birth names of popes (unsurprisingly, 'Jim' was not one of them!), that was game over. Mr Walker took a flyer on the next starter, but was wrong and lost five, and that was the gong. Corpus Christi won 180-140.
A good match between two good teams, both of whom are definitely still more than capable of reaching the semis. Unlucky Wolfson, but another good performance nonetheless, best of luck in the eliminators. Well done Corpus Christi though, another strong win over good opponents, best of luck in the qualifiers!
The stats: Ms Jones was, again, the best buzzer of the night, with seven starters, while Mr Stewart was best for Corpus Christi with five. On the bonuses, Wolfson converted 14 out of 24 (with two penalties), while Corpus Christi managed 16 out of 30.
Next week's match: don't know yet, any two of Jesus, Durham, Courtauld or Imperial. If it were down to me, Durham and Imperial would be kept apart, but we shall wait and see.
Only Connect finally ended its initial phase tonight, with the final play-off, between the Eggchasers and the Turophiles. A slightly better showing for the latter in the second and final rounds saw them win 24-19.
One question - I notice that on Twitter you post the individual scores per player. How exactly is the distribution of the points for the bonus questions determined? Often it would not be clear who exactly came up with the correct answer (if they confer quietly).
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It's two points to the player that answered the preceding starter and one to everyone else.
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